Between September 01 and 06, the 10th General Conference of the Academy of Science for the Developing World will be promoted in the city of Angra dos Reis, in the southeastern Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The event, which takes place once a year, has as its main objective the promotion of scientific research in developing countries. A total of 400 scientists are expected.
The conference is organized and financed by the Brazilian government and by the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC), based in Rio de Janeiro. Up to yesterday, August 29, the presence of 30 ministers had been confirmed, each from a different country, including the minister of Science and Technology of Brazil, Sérgio Rezende.
The highlights of the conference will be the awarding of Trieste Science Prize, the most important of the Academy of Science for the Developing World (TWAS), which honours scientists who live and work in developing countries and provide significant contributions to world science.
The winners of this year’s award will be Brazilian scientist Jacob Palis, the vice president of ABC, and Indian scientist C.S. Seshadri, in the area of Mathematical Sciences, as well as scientist Chen Ding-Shinn, from Taiwan, and Rao Zihe, from China, in the area of Medical Sciences.
Other awards to be given will be the TWAS Prizes, which honour scientists in eight areas of science: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Agriculture, Engineering, Medical Sciences and Land Sciences.
The award winners will present their work at talks during the event. Among other speakers will be professor David Gross, of the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the University of California, winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize for Physics.
During the event, successful experiences in life science in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the development of Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I), the advances of nanoscience and nanotechnology (properties of minute structures) in the southern hemisphere and scientific studies about the impact of global climate changes in this hemisphere will also be presented.
In the sidelines of the conference, the Third World Network of Scientific Organizations (TWNSO) will promote its General Assembly with ministers of Science and Technology to discuss the financing of ST&I in developing countries.
Another meeting will be the TWAS 1st Regional Conference of Young Scientists, which will include 30 scientists under the age of 40 to present their research and debate their applications. During the event, the new TWAS president and board will also be chosen.
The Academy
TWAS, the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, has as its objective the promotion of scientific capacity and excellence for the sustainable development of developing countries.
The organization was established in Trieste, Italy, in 1983, by a group of scientists led by Pakistani Nobel Prize winner Abdus Salam, who is already deceased. Over 700 scientists are associated to the academy.
Since 1986, TWAS has already supported scientific research in 100 developing countries through various programs. The academy works in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICPT) and the International Council for Science (ICSU), among others.
Ministers and representatives of 12 Arab countries are going to participate in Conference. Among the participants: the Ministers of Science and Technology of Sudan, Abdel Rahman Saeed and of Palestine, Jamal Al-Khodary; the minister of Higher Education of Syria, Ghias Barakat; and the prime minister and deputy chairman of the Higher Council for Science and Technology of Jordan, Abdel Salam Atallah Majali.
Apart from the ministers, the event will also count on the participation of representatives of universities, research centers and scientific organizations of Sudan, Morocco, Lebanon, Kuwait, Egypt, Libya, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Anba